Stars in AHL Western Conference Finals

Question — which NHL organization still has their parent team and AHL affiliate in the playoffs?

Answer — Montreal.

The Canadians have advanced to their second straight seventh game, this time against the Pittsburgh Penguins,

Meanwhile, the Texas Stars will meet the Habs’ AHL team, the Hamiliton Bulldogs, who had their hands full with the Abbotsford Heat before prevailing in six games.

The series opens in Ontario this weekend and heads south next week with games on Wednesday (May 19) and Friday, and Game 5 on Saturday if needed.

The Stars, coming off a dark season without a place to play before landing in suburban Austin, won a tense Game 7 in Chicago, outscoring the Wolves 6-5 when Jamie Benn scored just under five minutes into overtime.

Only 3,958 bothered to show up for the contest, which saw the Stars pepper Drew MacIntyre with 53 shots, including 20 in the first period. But the Wolves led, 3-2 after one, as Matt Climie was forced to take over from Brent Krahn in the Texas net. The former Rampage netminder banged his head against the goal post in Game 6 and suffered a concussion.

But Macintyre, who owned the Rampage this season — going 7-1 against SA, was solved by Andrew Hutchinson with 6:10 in regulation to force the extra session.

It marked the third time the Stars caught up to Chicago, rebounding from 2-0, 4-2 and 5-4 deficits to tie the contest.

The Stars also outshot Chicago 15-4 in the third period and 9-2 in the overtime.

Benn scored his team-leading eighth playoff goal from the circle, short-side, according to the AHL account of the contest.

Congrats to the Stars organization, who have come a long way since those exhibition games against the Rampage back in early October to claim a place in the Western Conference Finals.

If you’d like to check out the games, be advised the Stars averaged over 4,600 fans for their post-season contests.

Games 1 and 2 will be Friday and Sunday in Hamilton, followed by Games 3-4-5 in Cedar Park on Wed., Fri and if necessary, Sat. May 22.

Congrats to Torch and the Blackhawks — Sharks Next

The NHL’s Western Conference Finals are also set, with the Chicago Blackhawks meeting the San Jose Sharks.

John Torchetti, who coached here with the Iguanas, Dragons and Rampage, is one of two Hawks assistants. Bill Peters, who is the head coach of the Hawks’ AHL affiliate in Rockford and the team’s president, former Iggy goaltender Mark Bernard, will be leading the cheers from the booth, as the Blackhawks will try and get their names on Lord Stanley’s Cup for the first time since 1960, the longest drought in the NHL.